Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

On the whole I like Twitter. I got my most recent tech PR job using it, I’ve met some cool and interesting people on it and I find it useful on a daily basis. However, its not without its frustrations and two of my main ones have been captured perfectly elsewhere today.

Bobbie Johnson writes in The Guardian about how social media experts overinflate the importance of things discussed on Twitter and other social networks, citing the discussion of Christian Bale’s rant yesterday.

“Nobody talks about people down the pub laughing about Bale’s expletive-laden bullying as a “social drinking sensation”. Whether they do it online or offline, down the pub or on Facebook doesn’t matter. “Social media” is mainstream - we don’t need to claim any more victories for it.”

And Sally Whittle has written a great blog about the weird/sycophantic/creepy habit people have of ‘chatting’ with celebs on Twitter.

“Isn’t there something a bit, well, creepy about an otherwise sensible adult sending little “ho, ho we have so much in common” gags to TV presenters?  And isn’t it just the modern equivalent of joining a fan club?”

So, no styling oneself as a social media expert, or muppet as Kat Hannaford puts it, and no claiming social media has saved/changed the world. For the PR, social media is just one channel to understand and use and there is really no need for self-annointed experts.

And enough of the celeb-sycophancy! Although by writing two celeb-based blogs in consecutive days I realise I am in danger of coming across as obsessed myself…

The Evening Standard has a long-standing reputation for being conservative (with a big and small c) so it should not come as a surprise that it has published an article denouncing Twitter.

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a micro-blogging service, similar in some ways to Facebook in that it lets you see the status of your followers (friends, colleagues, acquaintances, associates, etc). It is strangely addictive, hugely useful (I got my current job via Twitter) and I have made a whole host of new friends using it.

A number of journalists from the Financial Times, The Guardian and the BBC already use it, so I was initially delighted to see a piece on it in The Evening Standard today, which I presumed would be extolling the virtues of Twitter. How wrong I was.

The journalist didn’t like Twitter - fair enough, perhaps its not for everyone - but wrote such a curmudgeonly piece he came across as both the worst kind of luddite AND a right old misery-guts. He undermined any legitimate points he may have had by making errors in his copy that a few minutes researching (maybe even using the new-fangled interweb thingy) would have picked up. Twitter allows you 140 characters to make your update, NOT 160 for example.

Twitter users are passionate about it and for many it has become an essential part of work and play. I would expect a pretty frenzied response from the Twitterati to this although at the time of writing the article has just two comments on it. I’m guessing it will be through the roof by the time I get in tomorrow.

FAIL!

I posted a while ago about social media tool, Twitter, and its role in disrupting the media process.  Charles Arthur rightly pointed out:

Except… this is only accurate about “disrupting the flow of the news process” where “news” means “news about technology stuff”.

We in technology PR and media are living in a bubble to a certain extent and mainstream media in other industries are yet to use the tool widely. Rory Cellan-Jones, tech correspondent at the BBC posted this morning about his recent experience using Twitter:

When I said in a “Tweet” last week that I was looking into addiction to online games I immediately got useful replies, including one which sent me to a psychiatrist at the Tavistock who became the key figure in my story. Then, minutes after I did the story on Today, I got more Twitter messages attacking me for being unfair to gamers. I was then able to point them at a blog post I’d written with more detail and that became a forum for a vigorous debate about the pros and cons of online games.

Yes it is a technology topic but it is slightly more mainstream in reach and provides a great case study of how journalists are using Twitter these days.

Yesterday at the Future of Mobile event in London, Guardian writer and lover of Twitter, Jemima Kiss said Twitter is one of the most important tools of her job.

I hope PR folks are listening and taking note…

Courtesy of Paul Walsh via Twinkle

Just stumbled across a really useful post for PRs wanting to follow and interact with journalists on Twitter by Stephen Davies.  Lists like this always make me a bit nervous but here’s hoping people respect Twitter as a conversation medium and don’t just abuse the system, although the “unfollow” button is only ever a click away.

Jason Stamper wrote a great piece this morning about what Obama’s presidency means for the science and technology world. For anyone working in these industries, these are exciting times. As Barack Obama himself says:

“America risks being left behind in the global economy: Revolutionary advances in information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and other fields are reshaping the global economy. Without renewed efforts, the United States risks losing leadership in science, technology and innovation.”

And what of his plans to hire a CTO of the U.S.A?

That’s quite a job title and one that is going to actually be filled early next year, if Obama’s election pledges are to be believed.

To quote the man of the moment, he plans to appoint America’s first CTO to “ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.”

Worthy sentiments I’m sure you’ll agree and probably not that much of a surprise. Of the two main presidential candidates, Obama was far more tech-savvy than McCain, even going so far as to use Twitter, the micro-blogging service to reach out to potential voters, whilst McCain was virtually tech-illiterate, confessing to not even using email and barely being online. I’m certainly not going to claim ‘it was tech wot won it’ but the difference between the two men on that issue was stark and only served to highlight Obama’s youth, freshness and enthusiasm.

Obama has said that ‘the Bush Administration has been one of the most secretive, closed administrations in American history’ and the appointment of a CTO will certainly help to address that. Transparency in government and policy is always welcome and Obama plans to use technology ‘to reform government and improve the exchange of information between the federal government and citizens.’

We’ll have to watch this space to see exactly how the CTO and tech-friendly approach works out but the early signs are encouraging and it can only be a good thing for the whole industry to have a US President as savvy and pro-tech as Barack Obama. If you’re interested in hearing what he is up to why not follow him on Twitter? He can be found here @BarackObama